[deleted]
ASK YC: How does a non-American entrepreneur get into the US?
21–30 of 31 posts
Re: ASK YC: How does a non-American entrepreneur get into the US?
#22short answer. MEXICO...... j/k
[deleted]
Re: ASK YC: How does a non-American entrepreneur get into the US?
#23> I'm well into my first startup, but I need to get to a startup hub where I can iterate faster and be around the right people.
I think you might want to examine your assumptions. If you need to hire people (or are desperate to get funded or acquired ;-), then said startup-hub is important. If you have a way of bootstrapping on your own ("I only bus tables as a day-job; I'm really an actor^Wstartup founder!"), and a plan for getting actual revenue, then don't overlook the potential of a certain global computer network that can reach across borders much more easily than you can.
Re: ASK YC: How does a non-American entrepreneur get into the US?
#24I've worked in the US on J1 status, the process was pretty painless, but the sponsoring company does need to produce a Training Plan that includes US social events and evidence of US only experience to be gained and how that experience will then be used in your home country.
You can then try for a H1-B and hope you get one of the very limited number available.
Re: ASK YC: How does a non-American entrepreneur get into the US?
#25You can't. Thank Lou Dobbs.
Re: ASK YC: How does a non-American entrepreneur get into the US?
#26Get a travel visa and a sham marriage. As the spouse of a US citizen, you are entitled to a nonimmigrant visa while you wait to be processed to become a permanent resident. Then, you can apply for citizenship. Actually, your best bet would probably be to send out a boat load of emails to half the valley explaining your situation and see if any will hire you. You can come in for interviews on a regular travel visa. Th…
> Get a travel visa and a sham marriage.
It's difficult for me to say that I support this but immigration regulations are so rediculous and I have seen this technique used very successfully several times so I must say that I agree.
This isn't unique to the US' immigration regulations either.
Re: ASK YC: How does a non-American entrepreneur get into the US?
#27I am also really interested in a way to start a startup in the US. Also Canadian.
Currently, I am working on a TN visa for a big tech company in the US. The TN is a 1 year temporary work permit. Currently, I'm on my second TN; last year, I tried to upgrade to an H-1B, but my application was not randomly selected. The TN visa is quite easy to obtain if sponsored by a company. It's the H-1B that poses a problem; you might get one after 1 year, or it might take longer (like in my case). Once on an H-1B, you can start applying for a green card. You can find more info about the TN and H-1B on wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TN_visa
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H1B_visa
It is also possible to go straight from a TN to a green card if you have a good immigration lawyer. This procedure is risky: if your green card application is rejected, you'll never be able to obtain a TN again. Take a look here for more info:
http://www.immigrationportal.com/archive/index.php/t-123851....
I do plan to start a startup later this year, in the US if possible. I don't really want to wait 3-5 years (or even longer) to get a green card. In my research, I also came across the Treaty Investor visa status that petesmithy mentions in his thread. Here are some links:
http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1273.html
http://toronto.usconsulate.gov/content/content.asp?section=v...
I would be really curious to see how this goes for you omakase. I've only recently started to do some research into this. You can contact me at (alx dot solomon at gmail dot com).
Re: ASK YC: How does a non-American entrepreneur get into the US?
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
You can't be employed by the company you own. And you can't share the ownership to avoid this restriction. As far as I know, they don't care are you 1% or 100% owner. So, this means neither H1B or EBGC are possible. And yes, among with solid revenue stream, ability to prove that you're not "one man shop", and that you're not trying to make your business of solving other's immigration problems, the company also needs…
My experience is the thing about ownership isn't true, and I can think of plenty of people who are counter-examples. Me (own shares in digg.com), Daniel Burka (digg, pownce), Tara Hunt (Citizen Agency). All three in the US on TN visas.
You're saying about TN status (sometimes referred as TN visa). I was saying about EBGC and H1. Only Canadians and Mexicans can use TN.
Re: ASK YC: How does a non-American entrepreneur get into the US?
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
My experience is the thing about ownership isn't true, and I can think of plenty of people who are counter-examples. Me (own shares in digg.com), Daniel Burka (digg, pownce), Tara Hunt (Citizen Agency). All three in the US on TN visas.
You're saying about TN status (sometimes referred as TN visa). I was saying about EBGC and H1. Only Canadians and Mexicans can use TN.
Yeah, my bad. I mixed up comments. Or maybe I mixed up visas. Which is about the easiest thing in the world.
Re: ASK YC: How does a non-American entrepreneur get into the US?
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
Just found this: http://www.naftatnlawyer.com/nafta-tn-blog/2008/1/14/tn-visa... << Looks like "controlling" doesn't just refer to shares.
Interesting; they have the clause 'as a matter of fact'. What we're doing is we've actually founded a company (some americans are part of the company), but it's an actually entity, and the shares are split equally so nobody has a 'sole or primary' share of the stock or income. Again, this seems to be legal, and we don't see anything wrong with what we're doing. But we do see that some things that would be quite dubio…
Thats good